This invention relates generally to improvements in carrying bags such as belted "fanny" packs, backpacks, shoulder bags, and the like for personal use in storing and carrying a variety of items. More specifically, this invention relates to an improved and versatile bag equipped with a bottle pouch for supporting and carrying a water bottle or the like, wherein the bottle pouch is adapted for movement between stored and deployed positions.
Personal carrying bags are well known in the art and generally comprise a relatively compact and lightweight fabric-based bag structure defining at least one and typically multiple pockets or compartments for receiving and storing various articles. In one common form, the carrying bag comprises a so-called "belt" bag or "fanny" pack including a compact bag structure mounted on a belt and adapted to be worn about a person's waist, with the bag structure forming at least one and typically a plurality of zippered pockets. The bag structure is normally used to receive and store items such as a person's wallet, grooming aids, snack items, and the like. Belt bags of this general type are widely used in recreational and sports activities including jogging and hiking and the like.
Some belt bags are equipped with specialized compartments designed for supporting specific articles, for example, such as an upwardly open cylindrical receptacle for receiving and supporting a conventional sports water bottle or the like. Such specialized compartment beneficially adapts the belt bag for use in particular sports activities, but its presence increases the overall size and shape of the bag and thus may be undesirable when a person does not wish to carry a water bottle. To accommodate alternative uses, some bags have included detachable specialized compartments, such as a detachable water bottle holder adapted for quick and easy mounting onto the bag or belt therefor when a person desires to carry a water bottle. Unfortunately, detachable compartments such as water bottle holders and the like can be misplaced and lost when separated from the bag.
The present invention overcomes these problems and disadvantages by providing an improved carrying bag equipped with a bottle pouch designed for movement between a stored and concealed position when not in use, and a deployed position for supporting and carrying a water bottle or the like when use is desired.